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NEWS RELEASE FROM THE LIBERTARIAN
ALLIANCE London, Monday the 14th January 2002In Association with the Libertarian International For Immediate Use Contact Details: Dr Sean Gabb, 07956 472 199, sean@libertarian.co.uk Royal Scandal Shows Need to Legalise All Drugs, Says Free Market and Civil Liberties Think Tank The scandal surrounding Prince Harry, who is alleged to have used cannabis, illustrates the climate of hysteria in which most debate on drugs policy takes place in Britain. So claims the Libertarian Alliance, Britain’s most radical free market and civil liberties think tank. Libertarian Alliance spokesman, Dr Sean Gabb, said: “It is astonishing that a young man who has occasionally drunk too much and smoked cannabis should be treated as some kind of moral degenerate. Prince Harry has been forced to attend a drug rehabilitation clinic, and will now be subject to random drug testing at his school. These are humiliations and violations of privacy that must have far more serious effects on the development of his character than almost any amount of experiment with mood-altering substances. “Moreover, the way in which Prince Harry has been treated encourages the similar treatment of other young men in his situation. Already, the statements from St James’s Palace have been taken up by the usual crowd of health fascists, and used to justify their demands for still more of our tax money to waste and still more of our lives to control. “Prince Harry is now 17, and was no younger than 16 when he allegedly first experimented with cannabis. We believe that, at these ages, individuals are old enough to make their own choices regarding lifestyle, and strongly condemn the use of any coercive attempt to regulate lifestyle at these ages. “Needless to say, the Libertarian Alliance believes that all drugs should be relegalised - taking us back to the freedom of choice that individuals enjoyed before 1920. Prince Harry is simply the latest and the highest profile victim of a war on drugs that cannot be won, but that allows a war on freedom and dignity that has destroyed millions of lives in the past 80 years, created super profits for criminal enterprise, and corrupted the police forces and intelligence agencies of every nation. “Returning to the case of Prince Harry, we do hope that if the Crown Prosecution Service is to be involved, it will treat him as leniently as it did the son of the Home Secretary in 1998 when he was caught not only consuming but also dealing drugs.” Ends Note to Editors 1) Dr Sean Gabb sits on the Executive Committee of the Libertarian Alliance and edits its journal “Free Life”. His latest book, “Dispatches from a Dying Country: Reflections on Modern England”, is available from Politico’s. Dr Gabb can be contacted by mobile on 07956 472 199, or at sean@libertarian.co.uk 2) The Libertarian Alliance has previously published four reports on relegalising drugs. These are available on our website (www.libertarina.co.uk) or in hard copy on request. Sean Gabb, “1400 Words against Drug Prohibition”, Free Life Commentary 17 URL: http://www.btinternet.com/~old.whig/flcomm/flc017.htm Christian Michel, Drugs Should Not be Prohibited, 2000, 6pp, Political Notes 166 URL: http://www.libertarian.co.uk/lapubs/polin/polin166.pdf Paul Anderton, Why Complete Legalisation Is the Real Answer to the 'Drugs' Problem, 1998, 7pp, Political Notes 151 URL: http://www.libertarian.co.uk/lapubs/polin/polin151.pdf Brian Micklethwait, Why 'Drugs' Should Be Legalised, 1994, 2pp, Political Notes 97 URL: http://www.libertarian.co.uk/lapubs/polin/polin097.pdf Extended Contact Details: The Libertarian Alliance is Britain’s most radical free market and civil liberties policy institute. It has published over 700 articles, pamphlets and books in support of freedom and against statism in all its forms. These are freely available at http://www.libertarian.co.uk Our postal address is The Libertarian Alliance Suite 35 2 Lansdowne Row Mayfair London W1J 6HL Tel: 07956 472 199 Associated Organisations The Libertarian International - http://www.libertarian.to - is a sister organisation to the Libertarian Alliance. Its mission is to coordinate various initiatives in the defence of individual liberty throughout the world. Sean Gabb's personal website - http://www.seangabb.co.uk - contains about 800,000 words of writings on themes interesting to libertarians and conservatives Candidlist - http://www.candidlist.com - owned and maintained by LA Executive member Sean Gabb, it lists Conservative MPs and candidates according to their views on European integration. It had a major effect before the 2001 general election, and remains an important resource. Liberalia - http://www.liberalia.com - maintained by by LA Executive member Christian Michel, Liberalia publishes in-depth papers in French and English on libertarianism, anarcho-capitalism and the free market. It is a prime source of documentation on these issues for students and scholars. Libertarian Samizdata - http://www.samizdata.blogspot.com - works in association with the Libertarian Alliance and has an ever larger following. Check it out. |